
20
SABBATH-SCHOOL LESSON QUARTERLY
2.
" 'In Him was life.' He came that sinners under „sen-
tence of death might have life. And the life which He gives is
a more abundant life. Instead of a few short years of time,
He gives ages of eternity. But the abundance of life is not
merely in duration. The touch of God's Spirit intensifies life,
and gives it a larger meaning, with new purposes and ambitions.
Children of God have a new interest in the world of humanity
as the purchased possession of Christ. The new life must be a
fuller one, a deeper one than the old, giving birth to thoughts
more grave, feelings more deep,-- in a word, 'life more abun-
dant.'
"—Dykes: "Christian World Pulpit," Pol. 14, page 177.
3.
What a precious lesson is this parable, or allegory, setting
forth so clearly the mission of Christ, and the intimate relation
existing between Him and His people. To get the force of the
iiiustration, we should understand shepherd life in the East.
"As we sat and looked, almost spellbound, the silent hill-
sides around us were in a moment filled with life and sound.
The shepherds led their flocks forth from the gates of the city.
They were in full view, and we watched them and listened to
them with no little interest. Thousands of sheep and goats were
there, grouped in dense, confused masses. The shepherds stood
together until all came out. Then they separated, each shepherd
taking a different path, and .uttering, as he advanced, a shrill,
peculiar call. The sheep heard them. At first the masses swayed
and moved, as if shaken by some internal convulsion; then points
struck out in the direction taken by the shepherds; these became
longer and longer, until the confused masses were resolved into
long, living streams, flowing after their leaders. Such a sight was
not new to me, still it had lost none of its interest. It was,
perhaps, one of the most vivid illustrations which human eyes
could witness of that beautiful discourse' of our Lord recorded by
.Tohn."--
Porter, in "Bible Student's Manual," page 160.
4.
" 'Therefore doth My Father love Me, because I lay down
My life, that I might take it again.' That is, My Father has so
loved you, that He even loves Me more for giving My life to
redeem you. In becoming your substitute and surety, by sur-
rendering My life, by taking your liabilities, your transgressions,
I am endeared to My Father. . . . While as a member of the
human family He was mortal, as God He was the fountain of
life for the world. He could have withstood the advances of
death, and refused to come under its dominion; but voluntarily
He laid down His life, that He might bring life and immortality
to light. He bore the sin of the world, endured its curse, yielded
up His life as
a
sacrifice, that men might not eternally die."—
"Desire of Ages," pages
483,
484.